In the three weeks since it went on public view, Weeping Window has been seen by about 40,000 people.

According to the venue, this amounts to a 1,340% increase on last September’s visitor figure.

The sculpture is one of two fashioned from the massive installation called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red which was a major attraction at the Tower of London last year to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

It comprised 888,246 hand-made ceramic poppies, one to represent every life lost among the British and Colonial forces during the 1914-18 conflict.

Two groups of poppies were fashioned into smaller installations which are touring the country. Wave is currently on show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park while Weeping Window, incorporating 5,000 poppies, is beginning its tour at Woodhorn.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

Among those at Woodhorn on the opening day were artist Paul Cummins and designer and collaborator Tom Piper whose Weeping Window sees the poppies cascading from the winding wheel of Heapstead No. 1, a relic of the old Woodhorn Colliery and a scheduled ancient monument.

Thousands have followed in their footsteps and some of them, it seems, have come from far afield.

Woodhorn spokeswoman Deborah Tate said: “I’ve heard from our volunteers that people from Australia have come to see it while visiting relatives and we have also had lots of fantastic reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor.

“I think it has really helped to break down some barriers. People have come to see the poppies and it has introduced them to the other things we have here which they didn’t necessarily think they’d enjoy. They have come for one thing and realised we do other things.”

Deborah said the recent good weather had probably helped attendance, with as many as 3,000 people visiting on some of the sunniest days.

“It has been busy but we can accommodate a lot of people on this site,” she said.

“There has been a very special atmosphere here. We have about 20 volunteers helping with the poppies and some of them are giving up two or three weeks of their own time.

“But they are getting huge satisfaction from talking to visitors and it has been very emotional for a lot of people.”

Woodhorn director Keith Merrin said: “The reason we wanted to bring the poppies installation to Woodhorn was because we believed the people of the North East might not have had the chance to see the work at the Tower of London and would respond to its very direct placing within an iconic North East context.

“It is great to see that we were right and people have come out in their thousands to see it and really loved the way that we have presented it tumbling from the pit wheel.”

Weeping Window can be seen until Sunday, November 1. Woodhorn is open daily, 10am to 5pm.